Coin holder



Nov. 22, 1966 L. A. TEEGARDIN 3,286,717

COIN HOLDER Filed Oct. 13, 1965 Les/er A. Regard/h INVENTOR.

3,286,717 COIN HOLDER Lester A. Teegardin, Rte. 4, Streator, Ill. Filed Oct. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 495,507 6 Claims. (Cl. 133-8) This invention relates to a coin holder which is functionally designed and structurally made for time and labor saving purposes in banks, loan associations, similar establishments and other places of business where coins ranging from one cent to a silver dollarare handled during daily business transactions, and has to do with a mistakeproof self-counting holder which well serves the purposes for which it is intended.

Briefly, the coin holder herein disclosed is simple, practical and eflicient and such in construction that it can be successfully and satisfactorily mass produced from cardboard, plastic materials, aluminum or economical sheet metals. It comprises inner and outer telescoping units; namely, an open-ended cylindrical barrel which serves as a sheath-like case and an insertable and removable coin accumulating and stacking unit, more particularly, a novel tray.

The outer case unit is characterized by an elongated barrel which is of uniform cylindrical cross section from end to end and of requisite internal diameter. One end, the end into which the tray unit is inserted and slid into place, is annular and flat. The other end has its lower half portion flat and its upper half portion chamfered to provide a bevel, that is, a bevel which slopes inwardly and downwardly. The upper half portion is provided intermediate its ends with an elongated slot which constitutes and provides a sight opening or window and which in conjunction with the beveled end facilitates identification and spot checking of the encased coins.

The tray unit is novel in that it comprises the tray proper which is semi-cylindrical and suitably elongated and is provided at one end with a semi-circular coin abutment flange. The other end is provided with head means characterized by a circular plug which is reduced in cross section and is capable of being telescopically fitted into the adjacent end portion of the barrel or case. This end also includes a disk-like finger grip to facilitate inserting and removing the tray unit and which also provides a limit stop shoulder which is engageable with the adjacent coacting end of the barrel or case.

United States Patent These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout,'and in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a coin holder constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and showing how the parts or units are assembled and how the coins are systematically stacked therein.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the units separated and how they are individually constructed.

FIG. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view.

And FIG. 4 is a cross section on the line 44 of FIG. 1.

By way of introduction to the description of the details it is to be pointed out that the coin holder is such in design and construction that it can be aptly produced not only from clear commercial plastics and other materials, it will vary in length and cross section depending on the denomination of the coins which are to be stacked and loaded therein.

One unit is denoted by the numeral 6 (FIG. 2) and the companion or complemental unit by the numeral 8. The unit 6 comprises a cylinder or barrel which is of suitable 3,286,717 Patented Nov. 22, 1966 length and cross section and which is open at its opposite ends. The inlet end for the tray unit 8 is denoted at 10 and is annular and flat faced. The opposite end portion has a semi-circular flat terminal 12 coincident with the lower half portion 14 of the barrel. The terminal of the end portion of the upper half portion 16 of the barrel is chamfered as shown to provide a semi-circular bevel 18, that is, a bevel which slopes inwardly toward the bore or housing space of the case 6. The median upper half portion is provided with an elongated slot 20 having one end 22 spaced inwardly from the open end 10 and the other end 24 spaced inwardly from the beveled end. The lengthwise edges 26 of the slot are slightly above the horizontal center of the over-all barrel or case as more clearly shown in FIG. 3.

The tray unit 8 comprises an elongated semi-cylindrical or semi-circular receiver 28 which constitutes the tray proper and this is of proper length and cross section to accommodatingly receive the coins which are to be placed and stacked in the receiver portion thereof. The left hand end (FIG. 2) is provided with a semi-circular coin abutment flange 30. The opposite end is provided with integral head means 32 which embodies a reduced circular plug 34 which is of a size to fit telescopingly into the end portion of the case. The flat face 36 of the plug is spaced a distance from the interior surface or face of the flange 30 to provide a tray which functions to accommodatingly stack a precise number of coins, this being the self-counting feature of the concept. The outer end portion of the head means is fashioned into an appropriate disk-like finger grip 38 whose periphery is flush with the periphery of the barrel or case. The junctional portion between the plug and the finger grip provides a satisfactory limit stop shoulder 40 which functions as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

As is evident the coins are loaded and stacked in the tray 28 between the plug surface 36 and interior surface of the flange 30 and when the tray unit 8 has been thus fully loaded the flanged end is passed through the open end 10 and the coin holding tray is then slid or shoved into place to assume the position illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4.

It is submitted that the herein disclosed simple dual uni-t coin holder constitutes an innovation in this line of endeavor and will lend itself to acceptable adoption and use by all persons who have need for an easy-to-use selfcounting coin holder.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and de'- scribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For use when handling and sorting coins of various denominations, a portable hand-size coin holder comprising: two component parts; namely, a readily insertable and removable coin receiving tray unit which is adapted to permit the user to conveniently stack coins therein until the tray is wholly loaded, said tray unit being of a predetermined transverse cross section and length measurement capable of holding a prescribed number of coins with requisite nicety and when full constituting selfcounting means, and an open-ended barrel unit constituting a case for said tray unit, the latter being slidingly housed and normally enclosed in said case, said case being proportional in size and shape with said tray unit,

said tray unit having finger-gripping means at one end and a limit stop shoulder abutting the corresponding end of said case when the tray unit is protectively stored in said case, said tray unit being semi-cylindrical in cross section to fittingly receive and adequately hold and stack the coins therein, and said case being c-onformingly cylindrical in cross section, the median upper half-portion of said casebeing provided with an elongated slot defining a sight opening, said slot being amply long that the user can determine at a glance the denomination of the coins contained in said tray Without having to withdraw the tray from said case for identification purposes, one open end portion of said case being beveled to further aid in checking the denomination of the encased coins, said beveled portion being semi-circular and confined to said upper half-portion, and that end of the tray unit proximal thereto and oriented therewith being provided with a lateral semi-circular coin abutting flange, said flange being in a plane common with said bevel and limited in crosssectional dimension, whereby to minimize the likelihood of needlessly obscuring the face of the coin which is in contact with the interior of the flange.

2. A coin holder of the class described comprising an elongated cylindrical barrel open at its ends and providing a sheath-like case, one end of said case having its upper half portion provided with a substantially semi-circular chamfer defining an inwardly downwardly sloping bevel, the other open end being flat, the median part of said upper half-portion having an elongated slot with its ends terminating short and inwardly of the respective open ends and constituting and defining a sight opening, and a readily insertable and removable ooin receiving and stacking tray unit, the tray portion thereof being semi-circular in transverse section and having a lateral semi-circular coin abutting flange at one end and head means at the other end, said head means embodying a cylindrical plug for closing the cooperatively adjacent end of said tray and a disk-like finger grip at the outer end of the plug, said grip being of a diameter greater than the cross section of said plug and corresponding with the outside diameter of said case, the conjunctional portion between the periphery of the plug and finger grip providing a limit stop shoulder, said tray and plug being commensurate in length with said case, said tray being fitted slidingly into said case, said plug telescoping into the cooperating end portion of the case, said shoulder abutting said last-named end portion, and said flange being oriented with the lower halfportion of said case and having its interior side flush with the aforementioned bevel.

3. For use when handling and sorting coins of various denominations, a portable hand-size coin holder comprising: two component parts; namely, a readily insertable and removable coin recieving tray unit which is' adapted to permit the user to conveniently stack coins therein until the tray is wholly loaded, said tray unit being of a predetermined transverse cross section and length measurement capable of holding a prescribed number of coins with requisite nicety and when full constituting selfcounting means, and an open-ended barrel unit constituting a, case for said tray, unit, the latter being slidingly housed and normally enclosed in said case, said case being proportional in size and shape with said tray unit, one open end portion of said case being beveled to further aid'in checking the denomination of the encased coins, said beveled portion being generally confined to the upper half of said one open end portion, and that end of the tray unit proximal thereto and orientated therewith being provided with a lateral coin-abutting flange, said flange being in a plane common with said bevel and limited in cross-sectional dimension, whereby to minimize the likelihood of needlessly obscuring the face of the coin which is in contact with the interior of the flange.

4. The coin holder according to claim 3, and wherein the median upper half-portion of said case is provided with an elongated slot defining a sight opening, said slot being amply long that the user can determine at a glance the denomination of the coins contained in said tray without having to withdraw the tray from said case for identification purposes.

5. The coin holder according to claim 4 and wherein said tray unit has finger-gripping means at the second end thereof and a limit stop shoulder abutting the corresponding end of said case when the tray unit is protectively stored therein.

6. A coin holder of the class described comprising an elongated cylindrical barrel open at its ends and providing a sheath-like case, one end of said case having its upper half-portion provided with a substantially semi-circular chamfer defining an inwardly downwardly sloping bevel, the other open end being flat, and a readily insertable and removable coin-receiving and stacking tray unit, the tray portion thereof being semicircular in transverse section and having a lateral semi-circular coin-abutting flange at one end and head means at the other end, said head 'rneans embody-ing a disk-like finger grip at the outer end of the tray, said grip 'being of a diameter corresponding with the outside diameter of said case and providing a limit stop, said tray being commensurate in length with said case, said tray being fitta-ble slidingly into said case, whereby said gri-p abuts said last-named end portion, and said flange is orientated with the lower half-portion of said case and having its exterior side flush with the aforementioned bevel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 379,966 3/1888 Lonits 206-.82.

' 2,567,332 9/1951 Goodhue 133-6 3,085,378 4/1963 Howard 133-8 X 3,139,976 7/1964 Swain 206--.82

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Examiner. 

1. FOR USE WHEN HANDLING AND SORTING COINS OF VARIOUS DENOMINATIONS, A PORTABLE HAND-SIZE COIN HOLDER COMPRISING: TWO COMPONENT PARTS; NAMELY, A READILY INSERTABLE AND REMOVABLE COIN RECEIVING TRAY UNIT WHICH IS ADAPTED TO PERMIT THE USER TO CONVENIENTLY STACK COINS THEREIN UNTIL THE TRAY IS WHOLLY LOADED, SAID TRAY UNIT BEING OF A PREDETERMINED TRANSVERSE CROSS SECTION AND LENGTH MEASUREMENT CAPABLE OF HOLDING A PRESCRIBED NUMBER OF COINS WITH REQUISITE NICETY AND WHEN FULL CONSTITUTING SELFCOUNTING MEANS, AND AN OPEN-ENDED BARREL UNIT CONSTITUTING A CASE FOR SAID TRAY UNIT, THE LATTER BEING SLIDINGLY HOUSED AND NORMALLY ENCLOSED IN SAID CASE, SAID CASE BEING PROPORTIONAL IN SIZE AND SHAPE WITH SAID TRAY UNIT, SAID TRAY UNIT HAVING FINGER-GRIPPING MEANS AT ONE END AND A LIMIT STOP SHOULDER ABUTTING THE CORRESPONDING END OF SAID CASE WHEN THE TRAY UNIT IS PROTECTIVELY STORED IN SAID CASE, SAID TRAY UNIT BEING SEMI-CYLINDRICAL IN CROSS SECTION TO FITTINGLY RECEIVE AND ADEQUATELY HOLD AND STACK THE COINS THEREIN, AND SAID CASE BEING CONFORMINGLY CYLINDRICAL IN CROSS SECTION, THE MEDIAN UPPER HALF-PORTION OF SAID CASE BEING PROVIDED WITH AN ELONGATED SLOT DEFINING A SIGHT OPENING, SAID SLOT BEING AMPLY LONG THAT THE USER CAN DETERMINE AT A GLANCE THE DENOMINATION OF THE COINS CONTAINED IN SAID TRAY WITHOUT HAVING TO WITHDRAW THE TRAY FROM SAID CASE FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES, ONE OPEN END PORTION OF SAID CASE BEING BEVELED TO FURTHER AID IN CHECKING THE DENOMINATION OF THE ENCASED COINS, SAID BEVELED PORTION BEING SEMI-CIRCULAR AND CONFINED TO SAID UPPER HALD-PORTION, AND THAT END OF THE TRAY UNIT PROXIMAL THERETO AND ORIENTED THEREWITH BEING PROVIDED WITH A LATERAL SEMI-CIRCULAR COIN ABUTTING FLANGE, SAID FLANGE BEING IN A PLANE COMMON WITH SAID BEVEL AND LIMITED IN CROSSSECTIONAL DIMENSION, WHEREBY TO MINIMIZE THE LIKEHOOD OF NEEDLESSLY OBSCURING THE FACE OF THE COIN WHICH IS IN CONTACT WITH THE INTERIOR OF THE FLANGE. 